I’ve been a bit MIA mostly because during the summer I transform into a ✨fulltime Momma💫 of two VERY active boys (6 and 2 yo). I love them with my WHOLE heart, but they need my constant attention and a LOT of active time. By the time they go to bed I’m exhausted. I’m still here though 😊

Sometimes you’re sitting in the drive thru at Taco Bell in Colorado and there’s just a squirrel with a whole ass coconut 🤷🏻‍♀️

In the brush beneath a Mission Bay overpass, two coyotes break into song as a Caltrain barrels past. Their duet — equal parts whimper, howl and bark — rises and falls in chorus with the horn of the train.

We've been a bit busy with patients (you'll hear about them later...) but we wanted to share with you our newest design of our Raptors of Belize campaign, one of the most beautiful vultures in the world: the King Vulture! #Birds #Raptors #bsnm #SciArt #BirdArt www.bonfire.com/belize-rapto...

Belize Raptor Center - King Vulture | Bonfire

The plumbeous kite..... With this campaign, we want to showcase the beauty and diversity of the raptor species we have in Belize. This design highlights one of the most...

bonfire.com

A watchful harbor seal in Seyðisfjörður, Iceland.

The king vulture is out! I know I have a lot of vulture fans on here, so show your love by supporting the Belize Raptor Center! 😊 #sciart

Belize Raptor Center@belizeraptorctr.bsky.social · 3mo ago

We've been a bit busy with patients (you'll hear about them later...) but we wanted to share with you our newest design of our Raptors of Belize campaign, one of the most beautiful vultures in the world: the King Vulture! #Birds #Raptors #bsnm #SciArt #BirdArt www.bonfire.com/belize-rapto...

The Tetons were littered with singing ruby-crowned kinglets. The crown is usually hidden, but in their spring fervor you can see it a lot, and boy were they frenetic, giving me great views of their namesake. They are tiny (5-10g) and rarely stop moving, which made photographing them a fun challenge.

I went on a walk the other day and was utterly delighted to find this dung beetle rolling a poop ball along. I knew we had them here, but I’ve never seen one engaging in their famous poop rolling behavior! #invertebrates

TwoVU A bad birding joke, but there you have it. Brownesville, TX.

Coyote o’clock #sketches #animalart #coyote

Some aforementioned chachalaca politics 😂 #birdpolitics

I could watch chachies (plain chachalacas) for hours on end. These doofy chicken-adjacent birds only show up in the US in south Texas. They are comical, especially in groups when their politics can be witnessed. There are few thoughts in their heads, and I love them for it.

Yesterday Fleetwood caught his first grasshopper of the season. He caught it in the air in fine kessie style, but ate it in a tree so I couldn’t get a photo. Happy to be outside flying with him again ❤️

We bring you Sky's relatives, or not since these were taken in Tikal, they can be cousins tho.. who knows! You can help us by getting a shirt w this amazing design that will support our resident birds & our Poison Free Belize campaign! #Birds #Raptors #bsnm #SciArt www.bonfire.com/belize-rapto...

Reindeer are not native to Iceland. Rather, they were introduced from Norway in the 18th century as possible livestock. While the livestock effort failed, reindeer are thriving in the wild in the Eastfjords region. They are one of my favorite animals to see when we visit Skálanes.

The plumbeous kite design has dropped. Please consider supporting the @belizeraptorctr.bsky.social! Link here: www.bonfire.com/belize-rapto...

Belize Raptor Center - Plumbeous Kite | Bonfire

The plumbeous kite..... With this campaign we want to showcase the beauty and diversity of the raptor species we have in Belize. We Started our new t-shirt series with...

bonfire.com

Skimmers are bizarre feeders with equally bizarre bill anatomy. Their extremely laterally flattened bill lets them "skim" through the water with their lower mandible, snapping closed on any fish that make contact with it. Black skimmers (Rynchops niger) occupy the Americas.

I still can’t get over how much plumbeous kites look like pigeons that decided to become raptors. They are gorgeous! I’m excited for this design to drop, I had a lot of fun with it!

Belize Raptor Center@belizeraptorctr.bsky.social · 4mo ago

After two weeks of absence we're back w our boy Skylar. He's turning 12 this spring & in his honor we're going to be launching his design... finally 😅 So stay tuned to see the design & get the link for the Bonfire, and thanks to @jcampbellsmith.bsky.social for the design! #Birds #Raptors #Belize

Reddish egrets also come in a white morph...whitish egrets? South Padre Island.

A neotropical cormorant drying its wings on a barnacle encrusted post on South Padre Island. Cormorants have beautiful, turquoise jewels for eyes. These lovely eyes are found in many of the Phalacrocoracidae, the cormorants and shags, including some peeprs that look like rubies.

Reddish egrets are known for being very active feeders, running around spastically. This one was taking a break from hunting and giving me great opportunities for photos on South Padre Island.

This is not even close to the clearest photo I have taken of these endangered red-crowned parrots (aka red-crowned amazon, green-cheeked amazon, or Mexican red-headed parrot), but I like the lines, the parrots all doing different things, and only one taking flight. ✨Learn more in the alt text 🦜

Flamingos are not the only bright pink birds out there, and they aren't even the only bright pink birds with funky bills. These roseate spoonbills also get their flashy colors from carotenoids, pigments they get from the aquatic invertebrates in their diet.

"Engage the solar panels!" Roadrunners droop their wings and raise their back and rump feathers to expose the downy feathers and skin underneath in order to take in warm sunbeams. They look ridiculous while they do it and I love it.

Delightful questions I get to have in my career path, from a student: "I'm cleaning up my experiment, what would you like me to do with my leftover blood and the E. coli?" She is an amazing, ambitious student who is interested in microbiology and is going to just kill it in college next year!

The avocets have returned to Colorado. I love photographing these elegant, bizarre birds.

Bronzed cowbirds, like other cowbirds, are nest parasites. This means they lay their eggs in other species' nests, instead of making their own. It can be very upsetting to see babies of a species you love getting harmed by their over-sized, unplanned, adopted sibling (and their parents). However...

This is Sadie. She was finally reunited with her human, astronaut Christina Koch, after her mom’s voyage around the moon took her the furthest any human has ever been from their dog. She can't wait to hear all about the universe. 14/10 (IG: astro_christina)

I don't think I'll ever tire of photographing the Ardeidae (herons, egrets, bitterns). I love watching them stalk and hunt in shallow water and the lace-like breeding plumes are a particular treat to see. This is another photo from the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center on Mustang Island.